


Seven Devils

by Niori



Series: Ceremonials [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Community: norsekink, F/M, Hel!Pepper, Hurt/Comfort, Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-08
Updated: 2013-10-08
Packaged: 2017-12-28 20:41:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/996448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niori/pseuds/Niori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on a prompt from Nosekink, which is Pepper is actually Hel. </p><p>Pepper gets caught in the crossfire of a spell, and now her true identity is revealed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seven Devils

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the link to the prompt: http://norsekink.livejournal.com/3415.html?thread=9281367#t9281367
> 
> so, a word on canon! In this particular verse, Loki dragged himself out of the creator Hulk left him in at the end of The Avengers and continued doing varying amounts of supervilliany over the years. Iron Man 3 didn't happen (no matter how awesome Pepper was in it). Enjoy!

She couldn't stop staring at her hands. They were folded primly in her lap, as though this was just any other day. This was how she usually sat, at least when she needed to appear calm, collected and in charge. The difference was her hands. One was normal -smooth, with a new manicure- and the other....the other was the truth. It was withered and black, the hand of a long dead corpse. She wanted to cover it, to pull her suit jacket down over it and hide it from the world. Instead, she sat there with it folded in her lap, because to do otherwise would show weakness, and she couldn't do that, not when she was being watched. 

Pepper Potts hadn't become the woman she was by letting enemies see her weaknesses.

It had started hours ago, when her father had decided that it would be a wonderful day to stir up trouble. Pepper still wasn't sure what the goal had been, other than the usual attempts to piss off her uncle. Pepper always made it a prerogative to stay far away when Loki attacked, for both their sakes. He knew what form she had taken, even if he didn't know who she had become. If Loki caught sight of her during battle, it would be a distraction. Despite all that he'd done, Pepper didn't want her father back in Asgard's mercy. If he was distracted because of her, it may lead to her cover being blown, and she also didn't want to be in Asgard's mercy. 

The only reason she got caught up in this battle was because of terrible luck and timing. Loki targeting a Stark Industries headquarters wasn't at all shocking, though targeting the one in Malibu instead of New York was different. Pepper wasn't even supposed to be there, but an emergency had come up, and she was the only one who could deal with it (or so they told her). When the attack started, she was in her office, looking over papers and willing herself not to incinerate the incompetent staff member that was trying to tell her what she had to do to fix it. There was an explosion that shook the building, and Pepper could feel the magic vibrating through the air. It tasted like poison and frost, and she knew it belonged to her father. She felt the anger in it, and knew the building wouldn't stay standing long. 

Pepper used her own magic - strong, though not as much as her father, or even her mother- to trigger the fire alarm. If the explosion hadn't told her employees to get out, that would. She'd cast a protection spell over them all until they were outside, and then she'd do her damndest to get them out of the area. They were mortals, insignificant and short lived, but they were hers. Whether she was Hela or Pepper, she protected what was hers. 

Only when she sensed that everyone was out of the building, did Pepper make a dash for the exit. She knew that the Avengers had shown up (the Hulk roar gave them away), and the fight was in full swing. The building was constantly shaking now. If the building collapsed on her, it wouldn't kill her, but it would hurt. When she got outside, she knew she should stop, that she should keep going...but she couldn't help herself. It had been centuries since she had seen her father in the flesh. It hurt her heart, what she saw. Her father looked every bit deranged as he looked on the news broadcasts, as Tony described him after every fight. He looked terrible, paler and thinner than she remembered him ever being. He looked nothing like the father she remembered.

She should have left after her glance, should have listened to her instincts and fled after she got her look, but she stood there, half hiding behind some debris. No one had noticed her there yet, but with so many fleeing civilians, she wasn't surprised. Tony didn't even know she was there, otherwise the first thing he would have done was find her and get her out of there. 

At first, Pepper didn't even know that Thor was using a spell. She never could have expected that, under any circumstances. Thor had always dismissed magic, downright thought it dishonourable in a fight. He had mocked and dismissed her father for it. She only really know what he was doing and a new flavour of magic hit her senses. It tasted of the ancient, and Pepper knew it was from the Allfather. She heard Thor say something about revealing the truth and her father's panicked face, and knew her staying there had been a mistake. 

When the explosion happened, the wave of power that shot out hit her father first. He screamed, falling to his knees and body curling in on itself. Then it hit her, and she was the one screaming. It felt as though her body was being ripped apart, as though her skin was being torn, leaving her body exposed to the needles stabbing it. It was too much, and the last thing she saw before she passed out was the horrified faces of the people around her.

When she woke up again, she was no longer lying in the street. Her body ached, and at first she thought she was in a hospital. She heard none of the noises that came with hospitals, didn't smell any of the smells. When she was finally able to look around, she realized it wasn't a hospital room. She was lying on a cot in the middle of a circular glass container. A cage. She knew what this was, even if she had never seen it herself. It was the Hulk cage on the helicarrier, the one they had locked her father in when he had first come to Earth, that he had dropped from the sky with her uncle inside. Dread settled in her stomach -there was only one reason they would put her in a cell designed to hold some of Earth's most powerful creatures.

She caught sight of her reflection in the glass, and her breath caught in her throat. Half of her looked the same, with the sole exception that her hair was now the midnight black she shared with her father. The other half had the appearance of a decomposing corpse. It was grotesque and terrifying to behold. It was her true form. 

The pain she had felt had been her glamour being forcibly ripped away from her. Whatever magic Odin had used, it had destroyed a glamour that had never once wavered in three hundred years. Everyone know who she was - what she was- now, and there would be hell to pay. She had escaped her exile, had been living contrary to Odin Allfather's decree, and Asgard would not let that stand. They would never stand to see her free, no matter how she had been living for the past few centuries. They hated her and wanted her to suffer. 

Hours later, Pepper sat there, legs crossed and hands in her lap, looking like her usual in control self. No one had come in all that time, so she was left to her thoughts. They were not good ones. They were thoughts filled with visions of her future, of what she would lose now that they knew she was Hela Lokidottir. 

The whooshing sound of the glass door opening startled her. She hadn't heard anyone approaching, hadn't sensed anyone either. It was only a matter of time before they sent someone to interrogate her. Pepper didn't look up, because she didn't care to look at Fury right now. 

"So, is he the baby mama or the baby daddy? I can never keep my mythology straight." 

A little startled, Pepper looked up sharply. It wasn't a glowering Fury standing there, but a suitless and nonchalant Tony. Her first reaction was a deep stab of visceral shame. She didn't want him to see her like this...Pepper loved him, and she didn't want Tony to look at her and see a monster. She couldn't bear that now. She wanted to turn away, to hide her face between a curtain of black and grey hair. She wanted to close her eyes and will this nightmare away, but she didn't. Instead, she titled her chin up in defiance and hardened her facial expression. Her father had taught her to hold her head up in pride, to show the world no weakness. She had always learned her lessons well.

"Wow now," Tony put his hands up in surrender, "What did I do to get the Angry Pepper Face? Look, if daddy dearest is into some alternative life style, I promise not to judge him on it. That's a lie- I promise not to judge him too much." 

Tony was being himself. He was joking and snarking, being an ass and arrogant. He was looking at her like he always did, like she was Pepper Potts, not like he had just discovered she was the half dead daughter of his favourite super villain.

Unexpectedly, a laugh bubbled out of Pepper's throat. It was nervous and slightly hysterical, but it broke the tension that had seized her.

"Father," she got out in a laugh, "he's my father." 

Tony looked disappointed, "Well damn. That's disappointing. But the horse thing is still true, right?"

Pepper laughed at how hopeful he sounded, "The horse thing is true, but if you tease him about it, I'll sick Sel on you. He's just like me, but with eight powerful legs." 

"Aw Pep," he whined as he came into the room and sat down beside her, "you don't play fair."

They sat there for a long time, silent, but not uncomfortable. Tony was fidgeting, and it was obvious that he had a million different things he wanted to say, to ask. The fact that Tony Stark was being tactful for once was a feat that Pepper would have called a miracle in any other situation. 

"What happened?" She finally asked. She had pieced most of it together, but still wanted to know the details.

"Thor came down with some super magic spell from the All-Daddy," the distaste on Tony's face whenever he forced himself to say the word 'magic' amused her every time, even now. She wondered what he'd say if Pepper told him how much of it she had, "it was supposed to show the truth," Tony rolled his eyes, "whatever the hell that means. It blocked Loki's magic and took away the disguise that stops him from looking like a Smurf. According to Thor and his dad, it'll make Loki come to some grand realization that'll put him on the road to redemption."

That explained her lack of glamour. She had been caught in the crossfire. 

Sometimes Pepper was astounded by the sheer idiocy of her family. This was one of those times, "From what I've gathered, it was him finding out what he was that caused him to have a psychotic break. How can anyone think that forcing him into that form would do anything other than drive him even more insane?"

"Hey, don't look at me. I told them it was a stupid plan. It's not my fault no one listens to me." 

"What happened to Father?" Pepper was worried, even if she wasn't showing it.

"He passed out not long after you did. Doom got his blue ass out of there before Thor could get his paws on him," Tony paused, "he saw you. He saw what was happening to you, and he tried to get to you. He damn near got there too, but be passed out. He was more concerned about getting you out of there than himself," there was grudging -very, very grudging- respect in Tony's voice, and it was obvious that he really, really hated it.

Pepper was as glad as she was terrified. Her father was free, even if she was trapped in a cage.

"Will he come for you?"

"Yes," there was no hesitation there, only one hundred percent surety. No matter who had had become, her father wouldn't leave her to his enemies' mercy.

"Good, because if not, I'd have to kick his ass extra hard, and I'd rather not have to make the effort," Tony was silent a moment as something occurred to him, "did he know you're you? Because that puts the whole window thing into a new perspective."

"No," Pepper shook her head, "he knows the face I chose, but not who I am. Even if he had in the beginning, it's been three hundred years since then. I've been a lot of people in that time."

Tony looked a little pole axed at her age, and that made a ghost of a smile sneak onto Pepper's lips. The hint of a smile faded a minute later, when more thoughts came to her, "He'll come for me, and it'll be a blood bath. The last time he was forced to deal with what he is, he tried to blow up a planet. This time, you've imprisoned his daughter on top of forcing him into a body he hates. There's going to be hell to pay."

Pepper understood, because she felt a similar rage bubbling under her skin. Every time she caught her reflection in the glass, a shot of visceral hatred stabbed her. She wanted to destroy something for being forced back into this form, and she didn't even have half the self loathing issues her father did. 

If she got out of this, she was forcing her father into therapy. Her efforts hadn't been successful with Tony so far, but maybe she'd have better luck with Loki. Hell, she should sign herself up for some as well.

"I don't get it. Your mom, she was one of them, wasn't she? She was a frost giant. Did they have that bad of a break up, because that's really pathetic if Loki decided to blow up her planet because of that." 

"She's dead," even after all these years, Pepper still felt a stab of grief and hatred, "they killed her."

"They?" A look of understanding darkened Tony's face, "Please tell me you're not talking about Asgardians." 

"Thor struck the killing blow," she whispered, and the memories flashed through her mind. She was still a child, naive and innocent. All she knew was her family, the vastness of Utgard and the Ironwood, and she had been happy, "I saw it happen. Father was away, and Odin came with a dozen men. He told them that my father had been kidnapped by a Jotun sorcerer, and they believed him because it had happened before. He lied," Pepper said viciously, hands clenching, "he always claimed it was a mistake, but I know he did. He had Heimdall and his ravens. He knew who we were, so he killed my mother to keep his secrets. He couldn't stomach killing children -his own grandchildren- so he let us live. When Father returned..." she broke off, remembering Loki's anguished howls, and how he had tried to find some source of life in her mother's destroyed corpse.

"When the Aesir found out what actually happened, they mocked Father for lying with monsters, for breeding with one. They tormented him because he mourned and because he raised us as his children. They called us monsters, they called my mother a monster, and they were vicious when Father tried to defend us. Asgard unleashed all its hatred of the Jontar on us...and never once did Odin or Frigga contradict any of them, let alone make sure Father knew Frost Giants weren't monsters. Mother's life was considered worthless because she was a Frost Giant. The fates of my brothers and I were considered just because we're half monster. Is it any wonder he lost his mind when he found out he was one too? Now they think they can force him to accept and love what he is? After years of conditioning him to hate it?"

"Jesus," Tony said, "Asgard is a population of psychopaths."

Pepper gave a watery laugh, because she agreed. 

When Tony reached over and took her hand, she was only a little surprised. She was, however, jolted when she realized what hand he took. It was her blackened hand, and she instinctively tried to pull it away. Only family had ever touched her dead side, and she didn't want the man she loved doing it. It was repelling, no matter how much her parents tried to convince her otherwise. Her life was falling apart, and she couldn't risk losing Tony too. She just couldn't. Tony held fast, and he wouldn't let her go. He squeezed her hand, and Pepper felt hope. Only a sliver of it, but hope all the same. He was looking at her hand too, and it wasn't in horror. He was staring in fascination, like a scientist seeing a new and exciting specimen. The questions he wanted to ask earlier, and he was struggling to bite his tongue. It was endearing actually, and it's what made Pepper give permission. 

"Go ahead," she said softly. 

Like a kid opening a Christmas present, Tony raised her hand closer to his face. He examined her hand, from all angles, turning it around. For the first time, Pepper didn't shy away from the examination.

"Is it just cosmetic? Because there's no sign of actual decomp. Can I run tests?" He looked back at her in excitement, "Actually, can I get Bruce to run tests? This is more biological than mechanical, but we're science bros, so we'd do the experiments together. They won't be dissection experiments, I promise, only ones that tell me everything. Because this? This is cool. I mean, I've never thought zombies were cool, but this is awesome. And damn, can I just say, you are one hot zombie. Half-zombie. Whatever. Hey, we should totally play with this. I'm the survivor of the zombie apocalypse, you're the zombie stalking me, determined to eat me...." 

Tony wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Pepper burst out laughing. Only Tony would take such a life altering discovery and make it into potential role play scenario. 

"That is not even remotely sexy," Pepper told him.

Tony just shrugged his shoulders with a grin, and Pepper rolled his eyes. It was like any other day, and if she tried hard, Pepper could almost pretend nothing had changed.

"Why are you here Tony? Besides, propositioning me in the most awkward place ever."

"I punched Thor, so I've been banished from the conference room."

Pepper's eyes widened, "You punched Thor? Tell me you were wearing the suit," she was a bit too gleeful at that, and Tony noticed.

"You bet I did. He was saying things about you I felt were very offensive. If I said things like that about Jane Foster, I'd be flattened by Mjolnir by now," he paused, "I'll hack into the security system later so you can watch him get punched. We'll play it on repeat for as long as you want."

Pepper would like that very much, "It's nice to see Uncle Thor hasn't changed his opinion of me," that stung, especially since he had been dealing with her as Pepper Potts on friendly terms for years now. It stung, but it didn't surprise her. Besides, his opinion of her had stopped concerning her around the time she hit puberty. There were others, however, who did matter to her, "What about everyone else?"

"Fury's a cold bastard and isn't giving anything away. Hill wants to use you. Coulson still likes you, and I'm pretty sure he's devising ways to get rid of Thor without Asgard ever finding out. Natasha's another Fury, and Clint..." 

"Clint has every reason to hate my father, and now he hates me because he knows I'm Loki's daughter."

"Ignore Legolas. He's just got his panties in a twist. He'll get over it. Steve and Bruce still love you. Seriously, every time Thor opens his mouth, Bruce goes green around the gills. I'm taking bets on how long he lasts. Want in?" Pepper shook her head, "As for the rest of the world, Shield has managed to stop the cell phone videos from getting out, but I don't think that'll last too long. When that fails, I have Jarvis on it. I will break the internet if I have to, but this won't get out unless you want it to." 

She'd think about that later. She'd go over her options and weigh the pros and cons. Pepper would do what she did best, but that was for later, "What about you?"

Tony was surprised that she even had to ask, "Isn't that obvious? Easy. I look at you and see Pepper. I love Pepper, and just because I can call you the rather spectacular name of Hel now, that doesn't change."

The relief was immediate and profound, and tears stung her eyes, She had allies in this, people who still loved her even now that they knew who she was. With that, she might be able to get through this. 

"Hela. My parents wouldn't have named me the same name as the realm of the unworthy dead. The Aesir shortened it to be cruel. I'm pretty sure it's where Odin got the idea to ship me to Hel when he was deciding how to get rid of us."

"So it's true about your brothers? Are they here too?"

Pepper nodded, "Father rescued us all from our exiles. He broke Odin's enchantments trapping us, and he hid us on Earth. This is the one realm where we could just lose ourselves. This is the most inward looking realm, and the perfect place to hide if you're on the run. Father brought us here, helped craft our glamours and then he left without looking back. My brothers an I did the same. None of us could afford to know where the others were, in case we were ever found out." 

"So how does one go from Queen of Hel to Tony Stark's personal assistant?" 

"I didn't want to be queen of anything! Odin sent me to Hel when I was still a teenage, and wouldn't let father come to help me. I was there a hundred years, and I hated it. I was good at it, but I didn't want to do it. Granted, when I first got to Earth, there weren't many opportunities for women, but I didn't want to be in charge of anything. I like making sure things run smoothly...I just didn't want to be the boss anymore. As for why you? I found you interesting. You're lucky I haven't hexed you by now, by the way. You're welcome Tony."

His nose scrunched up in disgust at the word 'hex' and its implications of magic, "Why did you become CEO then? That's pretty much you being Queen of Stark Industries."

"I was ready then," Pepper said, "I was ready to be in charge, and it was something I enjoyed. I'm CEO because I wanted it, not because someone forced me to be. I like my job."

"I'm glad, because I really don't want the job back, and I don't trust anyone else with my company. But honestly, this is what I feel we should take from this- I'm dating a queen. I've always known I'm good, but that just proves it. Does this mean I get to be king? Because I'd make an awesome king."

"Sorry, no. You could never be king, because it would put your rank above mine. I'm the ruler, so I have to outrank my consort. You'd get the title prince though, if it's any consolation." 

"I'll be Albert to your Victoria? I can roll with that."

Pepper almost commented that they'd need to be married for that, but if anything would send Tony running, it was the word 'marriage'. Which, given he had just found out she was a half dead goddess from another realm, was saying something.

Tony was studying her again, this time looking over her face. The look of fascination was back, and she knew he was itching to touch again. He settled for twisting a strand of her black hair around his finger. 

"I always thought you were a natural redhead. I like the two toned thing you got going on here, but I have to admit, I really love ginger you." 

"I like it too," Pepper replied dryly, "that's why I picked it. It was my stepmother's hair colour. She cared about us, protected us as much as she could. She was kind."

"Damn, Loki got remarried after his first wife was brutally murdered by his family. That took some balls." 

"It wasn't his choice. Father wouldn't stop mourning Mother. He was depressed and lonely, made worse because he was raising us alone. Odin thought the best way to snap him out of it was to arrange a marriage for him," Pepper rolled her eyes, "because shoving a woman at him would make him just forget the mother of his children."

"Parenting skills, your grandfather seriously lacks them. That's coming from the son of Howard Stark."

"Agreed," Pepper confirmed, "my father tried to level New York, and I'd still take him over Odin any day. The marriage was horrible at first. Father and Sigyn resented each other, and Jor, Fen and I hated her on principle. Sigyn was a good person though, and tried to make us happy without trying to replace Mother. She won us over, and then she won father over too. It took a long time, but we did somehow become a family. Father and Sigyn came to love each other, but I don't think they were ever in love with each other."

"What happened to her? Since she's obviously not holding a bowl to protect Loki's sorry ass from snake venom." 

"She died giving birth. The twins died with her. Father was devastated. We all were." 

"I'm sorry," it was one of the few times someone had told Hela that and actually meant it, "that sucks...but damnit Pep, you're making feel bad for the guy! Sympathizing with supervillains isn't on my to-do list!"

"Sorry Tony, but he's my father. He's the one person who has always been there for me when I needed him. I'm always going to sympathize with him. I was there, and I'm surprised it took him this long before he started blowing things up," Pepper grew quiet, "I'm not saying it excuses what he'd done, because it doesn't. He should have to pay for it...but if he's sent back to Asgard, it'll only destroy him more. I don't want that," Pepper looked up at him, as earnest as he'd ever seen her, "he's my dad."

"I'm not saying I want to get together with him for Thanksgiving, but I get it. I love you, and apparently he loves you, so we're going to have to come to some sort of true, now that the cat's out of the bag. I'm not going to let it slide, but maybe I'll argue for visitation rights in a non-Asgardian, probably a torture chamber, prison. Maybe. It depends."

The image of Thanksgiving with Tony and her father almost sent her into hysterics, "Depends on what?"

"On what he does next. Because it Fury refuses to let you go, it'll be a lot easier to break you out with his help. I'm sure a badass goddess like you can break yourself out, but I'm sure some help would be helpful." 

"Break myself out of here? Of course. Once my magic returns, I could level this place. It's not getting away from Shield that I'm worried about. It's Asgard. They're going to try and banish me to Hel. It doesn't matter that I've lived here peacefully for three hundred years, only that I've dared to spite Odin's order. They're going to look for my brothers, and they're not going to find them where they're supposed to be. Father stole us back and hid us well. As soon as Odin realizes they're gone, he's going to hunt them down. As soon as he ships me back to Hel, he's going to go after my brothers."

"That's not happening," Tony told her bluntly, "I don't care if we have to take on Asgard, you're not going anywhere you don't want to. If you're worried about your brothers, we'll track them down and bring them to the party. Daddy dearest too, if he drops the psychotic act." 

"It won't be easy. Asgard's very powerful."

"I'm Tony Stark. Bring it on. I don't do easy. Hell, we don't do easy. You can stay Pepper or you can become Hela again, it doesn't matter. You and me, we're in this together."

Together, they could do it. They would find a way to come out on top of this. She'd have a real choice in her fate for the first time in a long time. She could be herself again, if she wanted.

"You and me against the world?" She felt hope, and she laughed in the face of it.

"Now you're getting it!" Tony replied with a wink and a smirk.

There were voices and footsteps coming towards them, and Pepper knew someone was finally coming to tell her their decision on what they were going to do with her. She had a surprise for them, because she'd not let anyone else dictate her future any longer. She stood, with Tony beside her, still holding her dead hand, and turned to face whoever was coming. She was a CEO, a queen, and she would not be cowed by mortals, or even a lone Asgardian. She was the daughter of the most powerful sorcerer in the nine realms, and they would learn to appease her, or fear her if they wouldn't. 

She was Pepper Potts and she was Hela Lokidottir, and she was not a victim to anyone's will but her own any longer.


End file.
